LI KA-SHING, Asia’s richest man, said he will increase his telecom market share in Europe and seek acquisitions as slowing property sales in Hong Kong depress profits at flagship Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd.

    Home sales in Hong Kong, where Cheung Kong is the second-biggest developer, will continue to be affected by government measures, Li, 85, said late Thursday in statements after the company reported a 13 percent decline in first-half profit. Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. posted a 23 percent advance in net income, boosted by investments in power stations and energy.

    Li is benefiting from his acquisitions in Europe and Canada, as China’s slowing economy and property curbs damp growth at home. He’s accelerating overseas investments as Hutchison Whampoa ponders exiting its ParknShop supermarket chain in Hong Kong, while buying Telefonica SA’s Irish unit.

    Li, nicknamed “Superman” by the local media for his investment prowess, has been making big investments in Europe, ranging from water-treatment and gas distribution businesses in the United Kingdom to telecommunications assets throughout the Continent.

    His conglomerate has been a big player in the consolidation of the Continent’s mobile sector. Hutchison 3G Austria bought Orange Austria, the country’s third-largest mobile operator, early last year for US$1.7 billion from France Telecom SA. In June, it said it had agreed to buy Spain’s Telefonica SA’s Irish subsidiary, O2 Ireland, for about 850 million euros (US$1.1 billion), quickly transforming Hutchison Whampoa’s 3 Ireland into the country’s second-biggest mobile provider after Vodafone PLC.

    In Sweden, Hutchison Whampoa has a 16 percent share of revenue in the country’s mobile sector, Morgan Stanley said.

    Li is also paying 943.7 million euros to buy AVR Afvalverwerking BV to add waste processing in Europe to his portfolio.

    Known for selling assets at their peak, Li’s Hutchison Whampoa last month said the conglomerate was making a strategic review of its ParknShop chain.

    Selling ParknShop would allow Li Ka-shing to cash out of the saturated Hong Kong grocery store market and channel his resources into lucrative health and beauty ventures on the mainland or utilities businesses in Europe, analysts say.

    Also on Thurday, the 85-year-old Hong Kong tycoon made a subtle but significant statement that he’s stepping back from his US$120 billion empire and allowing his eldest son to emerge from his shadow.

    In a sign of the power shift under way from father to son, Li Ka-Shing skipped his annual televised news conference timed to the earnings from his companies. For the past 10 years, it has been one of the city’s most anticipated press events, in which the charismatic Li dazzles reporters with his star power, answering questions on subjects from education to Hong Kong’s politics.

    He is now turning to the older of his two sons, Victor Li, 49, who is known for his quiet demeanor, sober suits and his brief kidnapping in 1996.

    (SD-Agencies)